[byrdgrrl]

Sweet! Thanx Veena! I do have several of the August challenges favorited, but every bit helps.

[byrdgrrl]

Runemist, I feel the same way. I feel like I can just about stick my knee in my ear as long as my knee is bent. Once I straighten my leg though, all bets are off. There’s a couple of stretches that I do to work on the back of my legs. I should mention that I haven’t really been working on my full splits (front and side) because of the winter and I have trouble getting and staying warm enough where I feel like I can do them without hurting myself. Anyway, stretches. One that I do is using my desk. It’s about waist height, and I stand facing it and far enough away that I can just put my heel on the top when I lift my leg up. Keep your hips square and reach for your foot. Think about lowering your chest onto your leg, rather than stretching the back of your leg. Don’t forget to breathe. There is another one that I do from my knees. This one incorporates hips and quads too. Start on your knees like you were standing but with your knees bent. Step one foot way out in front of you. Press your body forward into a lunge, keeping your back straight. Bend your back knee and bring your foot up to where you can reach it and pull it into you to stretch your quad. Put your foot back on the ground and bend at the waist to put your elbows on the ground to deepen the hip stretch. Come up and shift your hips back so that you can straighten the front knee. Don’t sit down to your back foot. Bend your elbows so that you can bring your torso closer to your leg. Lift your toes so your foot is now flexed and keep moving your torso closer to your leg. Come back to your knees, then put the other foot forward and repeat. Then there is this one that I do laying on my back. I bring both of my knees up to my chest then straighten one leg out along the ground. The other leg goes up in in the air with knee straight and I press through my heel to keep it straight and pull very gently back toward my body. Then let go and the leg goes back to your chest and the other leg comes back too. Now the leg that was just in the air goes along the ground and the other leg goes up in the air.
Kind of confusing to write, if you’re interested and Veena approves, I could make a video.

[byrdgrrl]

Sweet! I been waiting for this one! A reason to drag my freezing ass onto my pole. Seriously, it was snowing here like two days ago. Blearg.

[byrdgrrl]

I’m down in southern Utah right now. I live near Springdale.

[byrdgrrl]

Thanks Amy! Looks like some good thins to try. Here goes. . .

[byrdgrrl]

I do it by feel. I make sure that the pole is vertical, then start twisting. The pole twists pretty easily until almost the very end. Once I start to feel some resistance to the twisting, I give it a couple more twists to really secure it and to line up the screws. Before I start dancing, I make sure that I really pull and hang on it to make sure that it’s solid. So far, no problems!

[byrdgrrl]

There used to be this vid of these ladies that did a dance on what I think was a subway car. It was certainly some from of public transport. It was some sort of dare, if I remember correctly. It’s no longer in the place that I knew where it was, but some searching on YT ought to turn it up.

Edit: This one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVeqNuHcb-I

[byrdgrrl]

There are some very good arm strength moves that Veena has in her lessons. I do them regularly, even when my pole is not up and I can tell that I am stronger.

[byrdgrrl]

I offered martial arts to her a even encouraged it but she wasn’t interested. Maybe I should force it.
As a girl who has trained in martial arts for over ten years and who started in my teens, please don’t force her if she doesn’t want to. You’ll be doing her a dis-service and the art a dis-service. Instead, see if you can spark her interest. There are many styles of martial arts. Try to show her several different styles. Maybe she just doesn’t want to punch and kick. Maybe a more defensive style like Aikido would be more to her liking. Also, see if you can find a school that has women and girls training. See if she would be willing to watch class and see what goes on. A big inspiration for me was watching my instructor, who is a woman, and the other high-ranking women and girls in my class.

[byrdgrrl]

name: Erin
age: 27
location: AZ/UT
stage name: dunno. . . don’t really have one. . . Jax, maybe? Original, I know. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif
lessons or self taught: Veena’s awesome lessons and a little bit of Art of Pole
spin or static: Spin=scary https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif
shoes or barefoot: oh, most definitely barefoot. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
favorite pole move: well. . . the ones (like three) that I can do.
day job: Wildlife biologist
your best/sexiest feature: eyes
how you got into pole dancing: Watching TaraKarina and Veena on YouTube
how you found out about studioveena.com: YT video Veena put up
if you were a pair of underwear would you be a thong, boy shorts, bikini cut or granny panties: bikinis. Cute but coy.

[byrdgrrl]

Ahh. Great, thanks. I’ll have to look in to that.

[byrdgrrl]

Does it have a bracket or something that you have to attach to the door frame to use it or is it all self-contained?

[byrdgrrl]

Congratulations! Good on you for showing that anything is possible. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif Keep on keeping on! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

I just noticed. . . I’m not even 29 years old yet! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

[byrdgrrl]

Got my new Mac on Thursday, going to the Store today to get it all set up and to learn the basics. Can’t wait. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences.

[byrdgrrl]

Every body is different, so you’ll find some moves are easy and some are just plain hard. I can side climb all the way up my ten foot pole, but I’ve tried and tried and I can’t do more than one basic climb. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif Several other people on the thread have mentioned this but I think it bears repeating. Work on your upper body strength and your ab strength. Veena has some excellent strength exercises in her lessons if you have them. Another important thing to remember (and I tell myself this all the time): Just like any other skill, IT TAKES TIME to learn and to improve. Stick with it, and you will get better. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif